From my hometown newspaper in Kansas:
http://www.arkcity.net/opinion/columns/article_dc63d368-8150-11e2-9a89-001a4bcf887a.htmlStraight Talk: Guns, schools and denial
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Posted: Wednesday, February 27, 2013 8:45 pm
By Sen. Forrest Knox forrest.knox@senate.ks.gov | 0 comments
"Guns and schools don't mix!" — a statement made by a school superintendent in a meeting that I attended recently.
My response...?
"I agree with you 100%!"
We just solved the problem of guns in schools; or did we?
On school gun violence, we are in denial!
It's time to face the real world and, in all fairness, the responses in that meeting with the school superintendents ran the gamut from the response above, to the superintendent with a concealed carry license whose students told him that they would be far more comfortable if he would carry in school.
Many school boards and administrators these days indeed are facing the real world. They are studying this problem and coming up with answers.
There are many dangers in schools.
Somewhere around 15,000 school fires occur each year, with damage per fire at $15,000 average with about 20 injuries per 1,000 fires.
But no one is killed.
In the last 50 years no one has been killed in a school fire.
Why? Because we prepare.
We have smoke detectors and fire alarms; we hold fire drills and use good building practices, etc.
There are tornado deaths in schools. But the worst 10 tornado incidents were all before 1970, with fewer than 150 deaths listed in the last century.
Why so few casualties? We prepare.
However, children are dying every year in school violence.
In 1999, the year of the Columbine school shooting, 35 children died in school violence.
In 2004 a new record was set, 48 dead in school violence.
Two months ago, 26 more dead in school violence in Connecticut.
There's one main reason our children are dying in school shootings — we are in denial! We do not prepare.
If we will use our brains instead of our emotions, we can figure out how best to manage the risk and solve the problem.
Other countries, when faced with actual terrorist attacks on schools, prepared, made necessary changes and completely eliminated the problem.
There are many effective steps that can be taken besides putting guns in the hands of personnel in schools.
But if you've got someone shooting in your school, a good guy with a gun is the ultimate solution.
The only question is how many minutes of killing will go on before the good guy intervenes?
The Legislature needs to be sure that local schools have the tools they need to address this problem.
I am trying to get enabling legislation passed that will allow our local schools the flexibility they need to do whatever they determine is necessary.
It's time to quit the denial and get our heads out of the sand. We must deal with reality.
Right now, about 50 out of every 1,000 students carries an illegal gun on our college campuses.
Most public buildings across the state have no security to stop a criminal from carrying a concealed weapon into the building.
We put up signs that keep law-abiding, licensed citizens from carrying guns and feel safe, falsely.
The reality is that these "Gun Free Zones" are where the mass shootings occur.
We keep legal guns out of public buildings with a sign, but give little thought for the illegal guns that are already present.
There are more guns in America today than ever before and there is less crime.
Statistics make it clear — more law-abiding citizens carrying guns make us safer.
Posting signs prohibiting concealed carry might make some people feel safe, but in reality the opposite is true.
The most dangerous places in America are the cities that prohibit guns.
In Washington, D.C., the most dangerous city in America, violent crime has decreased every year since the court struck down its gun ban.
It's time to stop feeling — it's time to start thinking. We owe it to our children.
Sen. Forrest Knox, R-Altoona, represents the 14th District of the Kansas Senate that includes part of Cowley County. He can be contacted at forrest.knox@senate.ks.gov or (785) 296-7678.
